For All Intents and Purposes
by Wildwood Rose
Summary: For all intents and purposes, it should be Madge Undersee in my shoes. But I guess you cannot help who you like, and Peeta Mellark does not like her. At least, not in that way. Katniss' fate is suddenly sealed, when she captures the interest of a certain blonde hair, blue eyed young boy. AU. Chapter 3 edited
1. Chapter 1

For All Intents and Purposes

Chapter One:_ In the dark of the night ..._

It is a warm late-August evening. The breeze ruffles the silk of my white dress around my ankles, and low V neckline. Stray tendrils of hair play happily against my face. I watch the gaiety of the party in full swing below from my balcony bedroom. Laughter. Music. Alcohol - and more alcohol. My mother has gone all out, and I guess her agonising months of preparation has been a success. This party is all anyone has been talking about for the last three months, and probably will be for much longer afterwards. They are all here for me. For my good fortune. Then why do I feel like the lamb ready for the slaughter.

I look out beyond the superficialness below me, beyond and beyond until my eyes water and my heart flutters when my gaze rests on the darkened forest below me, which edges far until it meets the still dark blue sea. The Seam. The ocean twinkles like the stars in the sky in the full moonlight. The lights from anchored yachts glow like Christmas tree lights as it is reflected in the water. Tomorrow, my 15:45 flight will take me away from my beautiful island in chains.

I turn my gaze to the far left of me, to the patch of forest near the coast, which is indistinguishable to most eyes, but not mine. Papa's land. He will be down there somewhere, smoking his pipe, playing cards with his friends, eating food from his pot, in touch with nature. The air up here is not for him, clogged with superficialness. Indeed it is not for me, I came up here for a deep breath of fresh air.

"Katniss?" an angelic voice calls me, but I do not turn, I know who it is.

My little sister, Primrose or Prim, tiptoes over, joining me on my left, my other sister, Ruta or Rue, joins me at my right. Their twins. Thirteen years old. Prim is a replica of my mother, and Rue, my papa, and I ended up somewhere in the middle, but looking most like my father I think. In the island's sun, I have the same dark skin as my papa and Rue, we also share the same dark brown/ blonde sun kissed hair, but whereas hers is tight like Papa's, mine is silky like Mother's and Prim's blonde locks. No one has inherited Papa's green eyes, Rue's an earthy brown, Mother's and Prim's a brilliant blue, and mine a striking grey.

It is funny, Prim wishes she looked more like Rue, and Rue wishes she looked more like Prim. And me ... the thought to look differently has never crossed my mind. Once when working on a charter, we had a fancy schmancy plastic surgeon from the Capitol as a guest, who offered to 'sort out these', pointing to my breasts. The nerve! I was only fifteen years old. I remembered my place in comparison to him however, and politely declined. Even though the wildness inside me was snarling, and ready to lunge at him, and gauge his eyes out with my claws. My body shape has not changed much in the past three years, inheriting Papa's strong but skeletal frame. Still, my mother plummets goats milk and eggs down me, with the hope that the added oestrogen will eventually produce curves.  
But, if I could be someone other than Katniss Everdeen, that offer I would gladly take.

Rue's soft curly hair leans against my arm, the strands tickling my skin. "Mom asked us to get you", she says solemnly, and Prim's cool straight silky hair rests against my left arm.

...

"Do you like my dress?" Rue asks over the ruffled yellow Capitol dress she is wearing, as we ascend down the stair case. It used to be mine, like most of my sisters' clothing, it was only to be worn for what my mother deemed as special occasions, and because I could count the number of these high occasions on one hand, it was virtually new for little Rue.

"You look beautiful in it my Little Sparrow".

Rue twirls happily at the compliment, showing off the full skirt, before jumping down the remaining steps and into the thick of the party.

"You look beautiful too, Little Duck", I say to Prim once we have reached the bottom of the steps, and she smiles shyly. Her and Rue are almost opposites in personality. Whereas Rue is mostly quiet like me, perfectly happy in solitude with the trees and nature. Prim is definitely a people's person, like my mother, everyone knows who Prim is and thinks she is the sweetest little thing ever. Although these past few weeks, with my impeding departure, she has often fallen into moments of quietness.

"Give me a twirl", I say and she does. She grins as the floral skirt - mine again, fans as she twirls, the white blouse -?also mine, becomes untucked.

"Hey, watch out for your tail", I catch her pulling her into my tight embrace.

"Quack quack", she sounds and we both laugh.

I tuck her blouse back into her skirt and place a kiss on her forehead.

She holds on to me long after I have let go.

"Go", I urge, suddenly becoming emotional, "go enjoy the party", and she runs off, stopping just before she reaches the crowd, to show off her duck waddle.

...

I am leaning over another balcony staring out to the Seam. Twirling a champagne glass of water in my hand, wondering whether I contribute to the superficialness with my superficialness ... ?  
I know. I am getting myself into a right muddle. I have played my part though. For the last couple of hours, and I know they all mean well, and that I will miss them as much as they miss me, but I am fed up now. This dress is too constricting, the make up on my face is too clogging, my shoes pinching, and my hair pulling. And this is all my own doing, everything will be intensified tomorrow, when it is no longer my choice.

"Madge has the car running, let's say we spring you out of this joint".

I smile at the deep masculine voice behind me, his breath tickling the hairs at the back of my neck. Gale. For all intents and purposes, he is my best friend. We are the same. In looks, personality and spirit. There is no one I trust more than him, and no one I would trade him with to spend time with. Not even, Peeta Mellark. I scowl at myself for allowing him into my thought process.

"Catnip?"

I turn to stare directly into his smiling eyes. Grey like mine. His skin is also dark like mine, and his hair a sun kissed brown.

"This is my leaving party, Gale", I mutter, and watch him as he takes my hand in his to sample my drink.

He smiles, he knows I am not much of a drinker.

"As I expected, a little bland", he muses and I role my eyes. "Come on Catnip, this is your last night on the island, these old fogies are too fucked on alcohol to register their island's sweetheart has sprung the noose".

I smile at his choice of words. He feels the same way as me about this set up.

"... OK", I smile and let him drag me into the plush 4x4 waiting for me.

Socialite: Madge Undersee. She is the mayor's daughter. Long blonde hair, and large expressive blue eyes. I have no idea what she finds in me as a friend, we are complete opposites. Like Rue and Prim. It is a one way conversation while she prattles on in our lessons about boys, parties, the latest fashion. I know I should be more into those things, and my mother wishes I was, but I could not give a flying fuck. Still I listen, just like she listens as I prattle on about how sea turtles, our diminishing coral, Papa's push for renewable energy.  
For all intents and purposes, it should be Madge Undersee in my shoes. But I guess you cannot help who you like, and Peeta Mellark does not like her. At least, not in that way. Also, despite being the mayor's daughter, she did not pass the last year of school, and has to retake the year, instead of going to college with me. I do not know who I am more upset for, her or me.

Finnick 'Finn' Odiar, due to his epic marine skills, is also in the jeep. He swims and sails for the island, in fact just last year he was named the greatest swimmer in Panem's history, after he broke the record in the Panem Quarter Quell Games. A year older than me, I was too young to compete, but Papa has great confidence that if I had gone in for archery, I would have also come away a victor too. Seeing as he took the last year out for training, Finnick, will actually be starting at the same college as me, the only silver lining of this set up. He, as opposed to me, is eager to get back to the Capitol ... let us just say, in his year away, his muscles were overworked not just by his swimming coach.

And that is all who are in the car. My friends. Of course we are not the only ones around my age on the island, there are plenty of them at the party, and plenty whose mother's had not dragged them with them. Growing up on the small District 12 island, or Pruna, due to the islands bountiful supply of coal, I know them all by name, and they all - especially since Peeta Mellark announced me as the object of his affection - know who I am. And are all probably, like me, wondering what the fuck someone like him sees in a plane boring jane like me. Seriously, you would have a better conversation with Gale's sister, Posy, who has just turned two, and decided she would like to give talking a try.

"Katniss, slide up next to me and spare me a few of your sweet kisses while they're still free", Finnick calls from inside, although I cannot see his face, I know what face, the Capitol's Lothario is wearing. It is the same image that has been plastered on the front of every magazine in Panem, following his victory. His chiseled body, sun-kissed hair, bottomless sea green eyes, and attractive smile, has made him Panem's new boy toy.

"Never. I don't know where your mouth has been", I tease sliding in next him.

"Where hasn't my mouth been", he smiles to himself.

"That's what has me worried", I quip, and smile at the sad fish face he is giving me, which I can just make out in the dim light of the car. I let him do it for a few seconds before I give in, and give him a kiss on his cheek.

He lets out an over the top smile, and expands his arms in triumph. "There. Now I can die happy".

I smile. Everyday I see him, I greet him with a kiss on the cheek, and every time he says those same words.

"Now all you have to do is die", Gale glums as he slides in next to me, which I think is a bit weird seeing as there is clearly more space in the front.

Madge notices this too.

"What's up with you bitches? Do I smell or something? One of you join me in the front", she exclaims.

Gale's eyes bore into mine, but makes no initiative to move, so I shrug and clamber over to join Madge in the front.

"Where to Katniss? You're last night on the island-", Madge asks, her question is slightly alcohol slurred, but I am not worried. Madge lives just next door, and has grown up going up and down Merchant Hill in much worse states then she is this evening. And who knows, if she crashes, I would never have to leave this island, I could spend the rest of the days with Papa in the Seam, climbing trees and being at one with nature.

"Hey!" Finnick protests, "I am leaving too you know, it seems like everyone on this island has forgotten that", he mumbles.

I turn to smile at Finnick's glum face, and he instantly perks, before turning back to contemplate, Madge's question.

Where would I like to spend my last evening in Pruna?

The answer is easy. Papa's. But he would only scold me and tell me to go back to my mother, besides, I do not think he would appreciate the added company.

I think for an alternative.

"The beach?"

"Yeah boi!" Finnick cheers, "the beach".

...

Nakedness is something that cannot be feared on Pruna island. It is something that seems to go with the tropical island lifestyle. While we would never go to work or school naked, we are very respectable; at the beach, in the comfort of friends. It is not unknown to walk around naked, to the old fogies it is known as 'one love', to us kids, it is known as 'cool'.

I am in the minority.

I am not comfortable with nakedness. Whilst my parents and my sisters walk around with next to nothing on at home, I am much more reserved. My body is not for others to see, my body is my own. It makes me highly uncomfortable to see others naked, I always find myself unknowingly looking at places I should not be looking.

For all intents and purposes, Gale's, Madge's and Finnick's nakedness, I have learned to deal with. But in the darkness of my last night on Pruna island, as I strip out of my mother's white dress, which I am careful to hang up, because I know how valuable her clothes are to her, I find myself transfixed by the waves of the ocean. Calling me into the sea. To bear and give everything to the ocean, while I still can, before my body becomes something I no longer own. I slip out of my panties, I was not wearing a bra. I loosen my hair from its long single plat, shaking it free. Before tiptoeing into the ocean, letting the warm water, just for this evening, soothe away my worries.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two:_ in the light of the day..._

In the light of the day, everything looks different. Worse. The island's arid landscape of the Seam heavily juxtaposes with the small pools of greenery surrounding Merchant Hill and Merchant Harbour, where inhabitants can afford irrigation, and then of course Papas and the forest, which are always green. Pruna summers are always harsh, usually spanning the four months from May until August, intense sun without a drop of rain, even the forest and Papa's start to fray at the ends. It is ironic that water should be our main concern, seeing as we are an island. But it's like the Ancient Mariners rhyme, water water everywhere and not a drop to drink ... or to irrigate crops with. The result is dry earth, dry mouths and dry spirits. Those who can get away, do.

Merchants. Those who profit from their land and their businesses, because they have ownership of it. Most Merchants are ex-pat citizens from the Capitol or Districts 1,2 or 3, mainland Panem, but you will also find citizens from districts three to twelve who have done well, and earned their place on the hill or in the harbour. They are the ones able to afford to escape the fierceness of the summers.

But for those like me in the Seam, on over taxed government land and are vastly employed in government mining work, I hope the rain will come soon.

Crashing at Madge's place after our late night dip, I opt against facing my mother and grandparents, for a solitude stroll through the Seam, it will be my last chance for a while. Swapping the dress for one of Madge's t-shirts, shirt and a wrap; I hang my mother's garment up neatly. Also pulling a pair of flip flops out of Madge's over stuffed walk in wardrobe, I start the thirty minute walk down Merchant Hill. As I twirl the end of my braid through my fingers, I try not to think about later today.

...

I did not check the time at the Undersees before leaving, but, judging by the lack of sun and the morning activity, it cannot be more than five in the morning. In the distance, I can see some of the miners on their way to work. Miners are the only ones who walk. All Merchants drive their own privately owned cars, a few take the bus, but it is very rare. Some Miner families of course own cars, it's whether they have the money to run it. Again, some of their children are lucky enough to take the bus to school or hitch rides from Merchants, but for a miner's five thirty start, with the sun still cool, there is no reason not to start the day with a walk. At least that is what Papa says.

In the summer of 2005, the king of Panem died and his brother, nicknamed 'Snow', because of the harshness of his rule came into power, and it was like winter had fallen on the tropical island. Miner's wages were cut, tax increased, and the only decent meal my siblings and I were guaranteed at school, stopped.

My sisters and I always took the bus to school. When times got hard we would walk, but more often than not, a Merchant family would pick us up on the way. When times were really hard, and I guess it showed in our physique, they would bring a packed breakfast for us, but I would always decline, and despite the loud rumblings of our stomachs, insist that we were fine. That was the way it had to be. I did not want to owe any Merchant family, and Miner's already had it hard enough.

"- Miss Everdeen", a voice calls me out of my somber recount of hard hard times. I am nearing the bottom of the hill, where a few Miner family dwell. My papa no longer works in the mines, but if I am walking at this time of the morning, quite often on the weekend when I am not at school, his old work friends would always be ready for a conversation. My afternoon departure, of course, the hot topic. They say how proud my papa is of me, but I am not so sure. Still, I accept their well wishes of good with what I hope is a sweet smile.

The Seam. It lies either side of Merchant Hill. Extreme wealth next to poverty. I have come to the crossroads at the birth of the hill. If I turn left, it will lead me to the Seam extreme. Extreme because poverty is much more intense, and folks there have come across extreme hard times. If you have a dog that wanders across to that side of the Seam, it is not coming back. Carrying further you will eventually meet the mines, or Pruna airport.  
A hard right, will take me to my Seam and the forest. Although this side of the Seam, we have come across hard times, we never complain, because we know that the Seam folks to the left of us have it harder. Whereas all houses here have some sort of electricity, there, most everything is done my candle light.  
Then a regular right will lead you on to Merchant Harbour, where more Merchant's reside but also their businesses. It also leads to my school, Pruna Private School for girls. I used to go to Seam Academy, which is located in the right of the Seam, and one of the reasons I know how harsh hard times can get there. But again, after Peeta Mellark showed an interest in me, my Capitol grandparents suddenly appeared and plucked my sisters and I out of that institution, and we have been going to school on the 'right side' of the island for almost two years.

I bear a hard right, and am met by the entrance of Papa's land. An oasis of nine acres of fertile land, lying where the Merchant quarters meet the Seam. Papa in really lucky to have this land, and many of a Merchant has come to try and buy it off him, or the government, who will probably sell it on to some Merchant or Capitol citizen as their second home. But Papa, unlike most families in the Seam has rights to this land, everything he profits on this land is his, he does not have to give sixty percent to the government like most families. Which is why so many of its citizens resort to the dangerous trade of working in the mines, it is the only way to make a decent wage. That, or if you stay the course of school, you can work for the Merchants. Gale says he would rather die though, then work for a Merchant.

My Papa inherited this land from his Capitol father, who left it in his name before he went back to his family in the Capitol. Papa says he does not feel a way about his father's neglect, he was a man approaching his sixties when Papa was born and Papa says things were different back then. Besides, in Papa's mind, he gained something better than a father.

And he was right, I think, smiling at the sun which has now appeared and trying to break through the expanse of trees. I pick up a fallen mango, and idly observe whether anything has changed since I left yesterday afternoon, when my mother dragged me back up the hill.

Up until thirty years ago, District 12 used to be farmland, like our much larger neighbouring island, District 11. But then they found coal, and a lot of the land was flattened and transformed for industry, and for cost efficient reasons, took over District 2s industry. 2's main industry now is research and development - weapons.  
Added to that, the elderly Queen of Panem, on one of her visits at the turn on the millennium had complimented the beauty of the island, going on to reside in Pruna for six months. I met her once. She came to visit my nursery school in the Seam, she smiled down at me with kind blue eyes, her glistening silver hair pinned up in a bun. She asked me to sing, and so I sung the Valley Song. In the silence that followed, I had opened my mouth to apologise, thinking I had done something wrong. But she had placed a hand on my lips and smiled down at me, whispering to me that my gift was my song because even the birds had stopped their song to listen to my voice. That experience aside, since the elderly Queen of Panem's stay, the amount of ex-pats relocating to Pruna increased, and it suddenly became a number one tourist destination. Ours as well as every districts' second most important industry, tourism.

Reaching the small three room wooden house where we used to live. I once again trade clothes for my father's hunting outfit, stopping to pet Prim's goat, Lady, before heading deeper into the trees towards the forest.

The forest is kings land, and so sectioned off by a high electric wired fence to the rest of Pruna. From what I learnt in my extra history lessons with Effie, they have sectioned areas like this in all districts, in an attempt to preserve wildlife. I think its funny, they go out of their way to concern themselves over the welfare of their animals, but not their own people.

The exact size of the forest, is over one hundred acres, stretching most of the right side of the island, me and Papa tried to measure it once on a camping trip, and that was as far as we got. Technically, no one is allowed in there, but technically we are not trespassing as the forest naturally flows into Papa's land, an oversight that they have not yet discovered because no government official is legally allowed on Papa's land without his permission.

There are a diverse range of animals in the forest, ranging from the native wild pigs and rabbits, to the imported deers and squirrels. The only fence that we do have, is the wooden one that Papa installed to stop the animals eating our crops, and risking the chance of exposing our secret. However I would love to see everyone in the Seam's faces when they see a live full grown fat stag walking down their street.

Six acres or so into the forest, I locate the tree where Papa hides his bow and arrow. We do not really eat a lot of meat, on account for all the fruits and vegetables that we grow, but Merchants and the tourism industry do, and so do a lot of hungry Seam families. We have to be careful to who we sell our meat to, we would not want the information getting into the wrong hands. However, with our summers increasingly becoming more extreme, and stretching into our spring and autumn months, a lot of government officials buy and turn a blind eye to our trade.

Approaching the hollow log, I smile at Rue's cat, Thorn, because of the large thorn in the cat's paw when Rue found her as a kitten. Thorn waits for me by the tree. Her brown tabby coat, blending with the tree trunk and the earth. I give her a scratch behind her ears. Like me, she does not like our new dwelling on Merchants Hill. Unlike me, she is able to stay down here.

...

I am cleaning one of the rabbits I shot next to the muddy pool, which in the fall rainy season, turns into a great lake; about thirty or so acres into the woods when I hear it. The birds echoing Rue's song. Full already with animals' entrails, Thorn hears it too; the solo crescent moon shaped leafy green eye that had been lazily watching me, suddenly becomes two full orbits. And with a long stretch of her sleek body, she leaps off the hot stone she was resting on, disappearing back in the direction of Papa's land.

A wave of guilt washes through me. I promised Rue we would go to Papa's and the forest together, one final outing before my departure. She has quite a knack for hunting. While her archery skills are not the greatest, her traps are almost second to none. Gale teases it is because he is a better teacher than I am. Although, his brother Rory is quite adept with a bow. One person neither of us has had success with is Prim. Even getting her past Papa's territory and into the forest.

I look over to my pile of carcasses: a solo squirrel, four rabbits and three wild pigs, all with a straight shot through their eyes. For a nearly four month summer with not a drop of rain, it is a king's feast. Whereas in cool places, animals hibernate in their winter, in Pruna, it's summer. I feel almost guilty, hiding out in a tree top, the family of three pigs, I took advantage of their desperate dash for a sip of muddy water, one of them a very late suckling piglet, rolling and playing around in the mud, I doubt it even knew it was hit. I do not know what came over me, but my bow and I were on fire this morning, for reasons I do not even want to think why... Ah well. It will feed more than a few hungry stomachs in the Seam.

It is going to take at least two trips to lug them all back though...

I wonder what time it is.

That is the only negative of the forest and Papa's land, the canopies are so high, I cannot place the sun to gage the time.

..

In the end I just take one pig, the squirrel and rabbits, and the other half of the animal entrails for Prim's cooking fat 'Princess' Buttercup. Stringing the rest of it up on a nearby branch for Gale to collect later. Gale and his family are the only ones who know about Papa's secret entrance to the forest, I do not know how others think we access the forest, probably the same way they could, by sea or creating a gap in the fence. It is supposed to be electric, but Papa says it has not been turned on in over ten years. There was once a time when the lake would always be full of water, regardless of the summer. But I guess even the king's water is becoming scarce.

I cannot find Rue back at Papa's, she must have fed and walked Lady and the chickens and then left. Back in broad daylight, I predict the time to be about 8. The sun is already hot, by 11 it will be unbearable. Even Miners work during the summer months stop at 10:30, and then resume at 13:30 until late in the night. When the mines first opened, workers used to work through the day, but on account of all the hyperthermia related deaths, they adjusted the time. According to the old folks, the summer of '83 was so excruciating, they lost almost half their mining population that year.

Seam folks are out. Washing, cooking, playing, some on their way to the same place as me. From the wide concreted Merchant road that follows all the way from Merchant Harbour to the Airport, to the heavily pot holed dirt track narrow streets of the inner Seam, Miners greet me as I go. Some having gone to Mother's party last night, but most, although invited, opting to decline. As always, their wishes are for my wellness. But lately I am having more and more trouble accepting them. Not because I feel they are in-genuine, they have respect for me, for surviving hard hard times. But there has been a definite shift in our relationship, since mother moved us up to Merchant Hill.

But I cannot afford to worry about how others see me. I have Prim and Rue to worry about, their welfare is at the top of my list.

Posy and Rory meet me on the way as I pass my house. They live on the right side of the Seam. Gale's father, Cane, was not so lucky as mine. When his Capitol father returned after Pruna gained independence from Panem, he sold his land, leaving Gale's father with nothing. Cane died the summer of 1995, when Gale was thirteen years old, leaving Hazelle with three boys to raise on her laundry wages, which like most non-mining work in Pruna, is seasonal with the tourism, November to May. The legal working age for a miner is sixteen, but with the family falling on hard hard times, Cane's old boss let Gale start working aged 15. Quitting school early, he has been working their almost five years. They make enough to get by, and every Sunday, we hunt for meat for him to sell and his family to eat.

The Hob. Pruna's black market, where Gale and I sell our meat, you do not get Merchants round here, although sometimes you will find more than a few of them in the evening. I smile as I recognise a few of Papa's mangos. There are mango trees all over the island, but this particular mango, you only find at his. The young boy selling the mangos shyly looks away, but I do not mind, since moving to Merchant Hill, hunting has become more of a sport for me, and a ways in which to provide for Gale's family.

I sell my wild pig, to one of the young peacekeepers, Darius. Peacekeepers are law enforcement employed by our government to police our activity, to make sure that no one is making a profit where they should not be. Peacekeepers also have to live in the area they are policing. I like Darius, he buys my meat and turns a blind eye to a lot of the 'unlawful' activities that go on in the hob, and in return I make small talk with him and laugh at his terrible jokes.

My rabbits and squirrel, I sell to the old lady we call, Greasy Sae, who owns a rum house that sells food. When I say food, I mean one dish. Some kind of meat stew, until Gale and I started trading with her, I was always dubious about what kind of meat ended up in her pot, because I know as much as anyone that goats with their milk and chickens with their eggs are too precious to eat, but I would never question. Food is food.

...

I leave The Hob as soon as I can, eager to get back to Papa's.

I bump into Thresh on his way out of Papa's. Thresh is our neighbour, he is the same age as Gale and works with him in the mines. He was invited to my leaving party last night, but like Papa, it is not his sort of thing, and I admire him for that. Ever since I was a child, I have always been in awe, verging on crush for him. His own parents dying when he was very young, Papa took him underneath his wing, and so he has always been around, helping Papa work his land.

"Miss Everdeen", his deep voice greets, his full carved lips the same colour as his dark, almost ebony brown eyes smile at me.

I hate the fact that he addresses me like that, like every other person in The Seam, after knowing me all my life, I wish he would address me as Katniss.

"Mr Thresh", I greet politely, and he laughs. It is so infectious, that I cannot help laughing too.

Despite our history, I would not call us friends. He is Papa's friend, so I am his friend's annoying daughter.

Two years ago we both competed in the Panem Games, you have to be over 18 to compete, but they have a junior training league, from which you can compete in as young as 14. That year we represented District 12, him as an actual tribute, me as a junior. Merchants enter for fun but for folks like us from The Seam, it's a ticket to change our stars and allow our families a life outside of starvation and tireless work, to live the rest of their days in comfort. Thresh did not manage to win any awards his year, as for me, they say my greatest win was Peeta Mellark's heart.

My sister, Rue, looks like a good bet for gymnastics, but it is whether she would get through the strength training. Besides, being a tribute is not her dream, and I do not want either of my sisters doing something they do not want to do as a means to survive. That is why they have me, that is why I am going along with this charade.

I realise that Thresh is still smiling at me, and my face starts to heat up.

He rests a large hand on my heavily padded shoulder from Papa's hunting jacket.

"Just don't let them change you, Jabberjay".

...

Papa's hunting clothes hung back up on the hook where he left them, his leather hunting boots positioned underneath, I am pulling Madge's top back over my breasts when I feel someone's eyes on me.

They clear their throat.

Yanking the top the rest of the way down, I turn to meet the grey eyes of Gale, smiling lazily at me against what used to be mine and my sisters' bedroom door.

Before I know it, I have closed the distance between us and I am enveloped in his strong embrace.

It is so familiar.

I feel so ... safe.

He rubs my back gently, but I am not ready to let go, so grip on tighter to him.

He chuckles and grips on tighter to me.

"So", he soothes, "I heard you caught a wild pig?"

I nod, suddenly finding it quite hard to speak.

I blink and bite back what I think may be the same tears that have been following me the last month. They settle on my heavy heart.

"There are two more strung up in the tree near the lake. One to sell and one to eat".

He does not speak, only grips me tighter.

"I wish I could go with you", he says eventually.

And I snort, the first real smile of today forming on my face. "You in the Capitol".

And he chuckles.

"Who would be here for the kids?" I smile, referring to our siblings.

"At least I will be near you, make sure your safe".

I finally let go of his embrace. "I'm going to be fine", I assure him, looking deep into his eyes.

He smiles eventually, "yeah, I know you will be, because if anyone tries anything, they will get an arrow through their eye". He sighs mournfully, "I just don't want them to change you".

That is the second time someone has warned me of this.

"They're not going to do that", I say firmly.

A smile pulls to one side of his face, "I wish I could believe that".

I scowl and he laughs, bringing his lips to smooth my frown away.

"I have to go", he hums against my forehead, "I need to get back to Posy and Vick. I'll see you at the send off".

I move back slightly and grab his hand in mine; his gaze moves down to them joined. "Don't forget the wild pigs", I address his frown.

"I won't".

"I know you'll look after the kids".

"I will".

I go to give him a kiss on the cheek, because I know he will not come to my send off. But his face moves, and his lips end up on mine.

...

I am perched up against a giant limb in the big mango tree, contemplating Gale's kiss.

Or was it mine?

I do not think I meant it more than a kiss on the cheek ... all I meant to do was kiss him on the cheek, but then he moved and it ended up on his lips.

Two years ago, I would have said it was a friendly slip up. I probably would not have thought twice about it, but after I returned from the games, something change- my thought process gets stopped because of a light tickling sensation.

I look up and smile at the Mockingjay perched on my bare right knee.

Jabberjays are native Pruna birds. When Mockingbirds where imported in from the Capitol, they mated and so Mockingjays were produced. Sometimes in The Seam we call Capitol people Mockingbirds, because of how they like to mock and play around with citizens lives in other districts. The Mockingjay was my symbol during the games.

"Waiting for Papa?" a soft voice asks from below me, I peer down to see my mother, Lily Everdeen. She is rubbing her hands together in circles. She does that when she is nervous.

I rest my head back on the limb of the tree, dismissing her presence and question and close my eyes.

"You know he's not one for goodbyes", she says, and silence follows for a long time afterwards.

"...Katniss...", she says after a while. "It's time to go".

I am silent.

" ... I know you don't want to g-"

"Then why are you making me!" I spit down at her, breaking my vow of silence to her.

"I'm not making you do anything, Katniss", she soothes, and then pauses. She rests against the trunk of the mango tree, and I rest back on the limb. "... I'm trying to do what's best for you!" her voice juxtaposing, and suddenly angry.

I roll my eyes. The one plus about going to the Capitol, is not having to be in my mother's presence.

"I don't get you, Katniss. Every other gir- "

"Well I'm not every other girl!" I shout, moving to get down, if this argument gets anymore heated, I will cause myself an accident. Then where would Prim and Rue be. " - and if you took one second to recognise anyone other than yourself you would know that!" I bite at her when I reach the bottom, venom in my eyes, exhaustion in hers.

"I'm doing this for you Katniss, so that you can have a better life then the one you have been given so far. So that Rue and Prim, can have a chance of a better life!"

And there it is.

My Achilles heel.

A low blow.

And she knows that it is low.

But she is right. I know she is right. I am just giving her a hard time, because she is the only person apart from myself I can blame, and would care.

My back is to her now, but I can hear the car keys jingle, being played nervously between her fingers.

"You're prep team has arrive. I've come to dri-"

"I don't want it. I can walk on my own two legs".

...

My prep team visibly cringe when I enter mine and my sisters bedroom, a yelp actually escapes Flavius' mouth. Despite there being two vacant bedrooms, I share with my sisters, I think because my grandparents are worried about who I may bring back to my room. I do not mind, apart from the few months after they were born, I have always shared a room with them.

Flavius, Venia and Octavia were part of my prep team during the games, and were hired again by my grandparents to get me ready for college. I personally think it is a ridiculous over the top gesture, but the thought of my grandparents throwing their own money down the drain makes me soar.

I am sure I must look a sight. Walking up in the post-11 o'clock baking sun, after almost two hours of hunting ... I must not smell to great either.

"What time is her flight?" Octavia asks worried.

...

By 15:00 I am dressed in an outfit I did not pick buy allegedly designed; my new brand suitcases are packed with label clothes that have never entered my wardrobe, make up, hair items, shoes, bags ... all suited for a possible future Peeta Mellark's girlfriend, but not for Katniss Everdeen.

My stylist and friend, Cinna, pins the final touch, my Mockingjay pin, before resting a cupped hand against my cheek. He rubs his thumb across it soothingly, his eyes full of sadness, before standing up and leaving me alone in my room.

Prim and Rue enter. I try to smile at their new matching frocks. Again, ones which I allegedly designed.

They sit either side of me on our large double bed. I flop back first, and they both fall beside me momentarily. Rue turns on her front, and plays with the Mockingjay pin on the lapel of my coat. Prim rests her head on the right side of my chest and places her small hand on my heart.

It is beating wildly.

Rue leaves the pin to play with the artificial curls in my hair.

"We don't want you to leave Katniss", Prim whispers, and I can hear the tears in her croaked voice, feel them collecting on my chest.

"I know Little Duck", both arms trapped under their weight, so I rub her thigh soothingly, "I don't want to leave you both either, but I have too".

"You don't, I can hunt and Prim can sell Lady's milk and cheese".

"It's dangerous and illegal to hun-"

"But you do", Rue protests.

"That's because I have to", I say simply, "I don't want you going into the forest without Gale when I'm gone either".

Rue is silent.

"Rue", I warn. She is stubborn just like me.

"OK", she mumbles.

"I'm sure grandma and grandpa won't really leave us with nothing if you just stay here".

Prim.

I scowl. I wish mother would not speak to them about such affairs as if they were adults. But who am I kidding, being from The Seam, despite my best efforts, at age 13, they are already adults. Even sweet little, Posy, at two years old, sometimes wears a look I wish she would not. The product of being brought up around hard times, they do not have to be told, they can see with their own two eyes.

"You know what?"

"What?" they both reply.

"I'm looking forward to going to the Capitol"

"You are?' Rue queries, not sounding convinced in the least bit.

"I am", I assure - more to myself. "I am going to learn, see and experience things I would never be able to in Pruna, and if you work hard at school, you will be able to too".

"And Peeta is nice", Prim whispers, and my breathing stops, she moves her head,and I look down at her red eyes looking up at me hopefully.

"Yes", I put on a smile, "Peeta is nice".

...

The drive to the airport was heart renching for two different reasons. Saying goodbye to my beautiful Pruna, waving to the people who had come to see me off. Gale - as I predicted, despite his family being there, was not. Hazelle had said that he had been called into the mines last minute, but I suspect that was not true.

The other reason was because of the ugly side of Pruna. The sad bony cows munching dry earth in their mouths, producing now milk. Children of The Seam, slight, and with bones protruding, too hungry and thirsty to play, and I remember I am going not only for my sisters, not only for Gale's siblings, but all my siblings young and old in The Seam.

But seated in my own specially hired private jet for me and my entourage - more money wasted down the drain. Effie, prattling on about the big big week ahead of us, and Haymitch whining at her to stop, all I can think about is my upcoming reunion with Peeta Mellark. Is everything what everyone is saying true...? Or is it all made up?

**_Hi!  
Sorry for no an with the first chapter, I did not really know where this was going until I wrote the second chapter. I tried to get as much of the context out of the way.  
Thank you for the reviews, favourites and follows. I was not considering to do Peeta's POV, but maybe I will slip a chapter or two later on in the fic.  
Reviews will get you everything  
Until next update :)_**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:_ taking off ..._

_July  
Sweet Sixteen_

Taking off, my hands grip tightly either side of me. Closing my eyes, I grimace over the swooping sick feeling as the plane leaves the ground and ascends higher and higher into the clouds. I have never been on a plane before. Nor have I had the desire too. Planes take people away from Pruna, and I never thought I would leave my island. I never thought I would abandon my sisters.

I have wondered however, what it would be like to fly. Like the wild Jabberjays, in the canopies of Papa's tall green fruit trees. The sunlight dancing across your wings, a beautiful song always in your heart that all awe to listen to. The ability to fly away from danger, to seek a better tree for safety, a richer earth for worms. To be free. Even during hard hard times, I never killed a bird to fill my families' stomachs. I guess, when it came down to it, I could never take the life of something whose prerogative is to be free, just because mine is not.

"You can open your eyes now", a deep voice next to me muses. We, aswell as the pilot and an attendant, are the only ones on this small plane. While the interior is extravagant, it is the size that has me worried. It is too early for hurricane season, but I feel all it would take is a strong force of wind, and this bird would be shot down.

I poke open my right eye, to find, Thresh's amused smile. I cannot understand how he can be so calm, I am pretty sure he has not been on a plane either. "Are we there yet?" I ask.

He laughs, "how can we be there already, we have just taken off? I would like my arm back however, before you cut off my blood circulation", he says, removing my hand from him and placing it on my lap, with a careful pat.

Thresh was picked with me as the male representative of District 12 for this years Panem Games. However, because of his age, Thresh, will be entering as an actual tribute. Which means, if he shows enough promise and impresses sponsors, he will be able to take part in next years Panem Quarter Quell Games. Hosted every four years, it is a competition where the best battle it out to be crowned victor of their particular sport. Countries' competitors outside of Panem are even welcomed to join, they are considered a great time for the country, especially its economy, but for Thresh, it is a chance to change his stars.

For me, two years younger, aged sixteen, I will not be old enough to compete in the Quarter Quell next year, and even if I do exceptionally well, the next one I would be able to compete in is five years from now. Because of this, sponsors are not likely to take an interest in me for longevity sake, but there is a monetary prize for first, second and third place in the Junior League, first prize would be enough money to feed mine and Gale's family for more than a year.

My hand clenches over the thought of it. Of it being so close to my reach.

I feel a hard bump in my fist and frown. Still not ready to open my eyes, I trace around the object.

... Madge's pin. My eyebrows loosen in recognition. I prise my eyes open to study it, as I had not been able to during the haste of goodbyes. Turning the object through my hand: a small bronze - or perhaps gold, I do not know the difference - mockingjay, stationed in the middle of single hollow circular ring, with an arrow near its tail and beak. I squint, not knowing whether it is going through through the bird, as if being shot down, or whether it has narrowly missed it? It is an odd and very surprising gift as I would say that Madge and I are no more than acquaintances. We maybe played together a few times when we were younger, and my mother used to do home visits to monitor Madge's mother, who I have always known as in a state of illness. But that was before my sisters were born.

Madge had said it had belonged to her great aunt, Maylise Donner, when she competed in the games. Her sport was archery - my best bet at winning the Junior League - but she had not won any medals in the category, or even got close to winning bronze, which is why it is even more of an odd gift.

I study the pin one last time before dropping it back on my lap. If anything, it may be worth something to trade at the Hob.

...  
...

_August  
Elegant Eighteen  
_

I delicately rub my mockingjay brooch, as I gaze out the cabin window. This is the second time in my life that I have viewed the island from this angle, the ache and queasiness over abandoning it still remains. Perhaps this time for more selfish reasons. Unlike with the games, I know as long as I play my cards right, Prim and Rue will be fine, appearances have to be kept after all. But as I turn in my seat to catch my final glimpses, I worry how long it will be until I return. When I left for the games, although it seemed like a lifetime then, I knew I would be back after a month. Now, I do not know whether it will be four months before I see my sisters, nine months, three years or ... if I play my cards really well, perhaps never.

I turn my watery gaze to stare in front of me, resting shaky hands on my wobbling thighs.

"Not much of a flyer, are you?"

Finnick.

I turn my head away, while I wipe away any signs of tears. Hoping it has not disturbed any of Octavia's makeup. "No, not really", I lie, settling my eyes on Finnick's kind face.

My grandparents hired this plane for me, and while they would much prefer it were Madge sitting next to me, they would hate for me to turn up in the Capitol alone, and appear 'mundane' or 'uncivilised', and what better accompaniment then a Victor, especially one as famous as Finnick Odair!

I roll my eyes at their utter pompousness.

Finnick adjusts himself in his seat, and so my discretion goes amiss, "the Mockingjay who is afraid of flying", his eyebrows quirk settling back on me. "What will the Capitol think to that?"

"OK, maybe I am just a little, emotional about leaving".

He pulls a face, "with that frown of yours, you don't say?" he feigns shock, and my eyebrows narrow on him. "Remember", he whispers leaning in, why - I do not know, as we are the only ones on the plane, "in a few hours you are going to be reunited with the love of your life", he pats my hand, "you need to turn that frown upside down".

We pull away from each other in tandem, a deep set scowl on my face.

He mouths me kiss, and brings his hands over to my mouth, but I slap them away.

"Now now, that is not really ladylike", he teases. "That kind of behaviour won't work for the future Mrs Mellark".

I huff, turning my back to him. I know he is just trying to mentally ... prepare me, but he does not need to remind me. I have been reminded of this all week. The last two years of my life! All the etiquette and extra tuition lessons with Haymitch and Effie, have all been in the lead up of reuniting with Peeta Mellark.

...  
...

_July_  
_Sweet Sixteen_

It is night time when we arrive in the Capitol, and after much insistence from Thresh, I open my eyes to look out the window as we land. A smile shadows my face, it feels like we are descending into a gigantic constellation of stars. But as the plane gets closer, I realise it is just the Capitol lights at night, and my smile fades. The pilot said we were due to arrive at midnight Capitol time, why are the lights all still on, does nobody sleep? They cannot have all been left on for our arrival?

We have been on the ground for all of two minutes. To get from the plane to the airport, we do not have to come off and walk along the tarmac like in Pruna, a large plastic gateway connects the two. Our attendant signals us to follow her, and I glance up at Thresh nervously, before quickly walking through it, worried about it breaking. I am glad for it nonetheless, the cool Capitol night air is already goose-pimpling my skin.

We are then quickly ushered into a small car, and driven through an airport already ten times the size of Pruna. Thresh and I in the back, the attendant and the pilot in the front, the fact that no one speaks is slightly unsettling. To make it worse, the airport looks empty. I know being from twelve, we are the district with most distance between us and the Capitol, but it occurs to me that if something were to happen to us, nobody would know. I look up at Thresh, wondering if similar thoughts are going through him, but he instead seems to be concentrated on the scenery going by. He does not have siblings like I to think of... only his elderly grandmother... I wonder who is looking after her while he is a way? A rush of guilt goes through me, I did not even think how she would fair with him gone. Madge's mockingjay pin twiddling nervously between my fingers, I try too, to concentrate on the scenery whizzing by.

We come to a sharp stop and the attendant ushers us out of the car, holding her hand up for us to wait in front of a huge metal gate.

This has been the first time we have been still since arriving. I gaze around the room, there are many of the - my eyes still on a boy and girl and I guess their attendant, although dressed more Capitoly than ours, and definitely more lively. They wait in front of the metal gate next to ours. The girl and boy both have sun kissed skin and brown hair. We watched the other district reapings on the television in the plane, and I think they are the Capitol's actual boy and girl tribute. But then, why would they be at the airport...? Judging by their clothes, whatever district, they are from money.

The girl is fussing with the boys hair, I roll my eyes at the superficialness, to only then find them locked with the boys.

His large eyes seem shocked at first, and then crinkle into a smile.

He smiles as if he knows me, as if I am a long lost friend.

I scowl, as far as I am concerned, he is the competition. My attendant taps my shoulder, pointing to the metal gate which now shows a green man.

...

Slowing behind Thresh and the attendant, I can already feel the night's cold air prickle my exposed skin, billowing up the material of the floaty light blue cotton dress that I wore to the Reaping, which was almost sticking to me back in Pruna's afternoon sun. My mother had laid out a shoal for me to wear, but I thought it ridiculous in the heat. Never did I imagine that my name would be picked, never did -

"Oh fuck", I curse. My eyes watering. Nothing could prepare me for dagger like cold.

I do not think I can move, the air has me literally frozen to the spot.

"Katniss!" a male voice calls.

My eyes widen.

No one here knows me, no one apart from Thresh, and this voice came from behind, and Thresh, despite my insistence, never calls me by my first name. Besides, the tone was wrong, the voice sounded more like a Capitol accent.

I feel an unknown hand enclose my shoulder from behind, and instinctively grab the fingers, before twisting it and pushing it away.

My eyes make contact with the same large shocked eyes I met not a couple of minutes ago.

They are a bright brown... like Rue's.

"I, I'm sorry", he apologises. "I saw that you were cold and just wanted to give you this", he holds up his jumper. My stomach twists at his words and my eyes trail down him and see he is just wearing a t-shirt. Returning to his face, my natural response is to scowl at him.

"Are you OK?" _that_ is Thresh's voice.

Something flashes. After the third one, I wake myself up from my initial shock and turn, seeing a few cameras pointed in our direction.

More flashes.

Being two nobodies from the Seam, no photographers are craving mine and Thresh's pictures, if we were from a popular district like the Capitol or one or two; or children of somebody famous, or even better, previous victors, the press would be all of us, not to mention sponsors - another steel plated ranch in mine and Thresh's favours of standing out in this competition.

So, that means, that these photographers must be here for him...

Great! Not only has this boy made me appear weak by offering me his jumper, but there is photographic evidence.

"Here", the boy pushes his jumper towards me again, "just take it".

My stomach twists again at his words. "I don't want your charity", I mutter before storming off.

...

A year and a half ago, before working on yachts, I would have been blown away by the apartment our attendant drops us off at. And whilst it is impressive, if not unnecessary, I instead focus on the impressive unnecessary amount of food that has been left out for us. Forget about Thresh and I, the amount of food here could feed five families for a week!

My stomach growls eagerly. Food was offered to us on the plane, but I was unsure that I would be able to hold it down. I am glad that our attendant has left us for the evening, as it means I can gorge, and not feel self conscious by her Capitol eyes.

When I have had my fill - I try not to over do it - I leave Thresh at the table and head for one of the bedrooms, knowing that too much of this rich Capitol food could do the reverse.

Exhausted from the day, I flop fully clothed, on to what is the biggest and most cushioned bed I have ever laid my head on. My last thoughts before sleep are of my sisters, and how what I ate this evening, is probably one tenth of what the both of them will be having for their dinner.

...

My third attempt at sleep is awoken by the loud knock on my door. Despite the bed's size and promise of the best sleep of my life, I did not slumber well, missing the comfort of my sisters either side of me. It was in fact my worst sleep for a few years, the last nightmare still a memory: I was hunting in a meadow, and suddenly became haunted by the sounds of my sisters' screams. They were screaming my name, screaming for my help. But I could not get to them, I could not see them, they had been eaten by mockingjays, who had stolen their screams for the song. In my rage, I shot my arrow, piercing through their hearts in one swoop. As they began to fall one by one, they slowly transformed back into my sisters' dead lifeless bodies. And then ... and then I woke up.

Leaving my recount, I realise the knocking on my door has not stopped. I turn my head to the side, wondering what time it is, and am greeted by it projected in front of my eyes. I squint, 06:40. I cannot have had more than five hours of sleep. Reluctantly I clamber out as bed. The curtains magically opening as I do.

It is our attendant. She signals twenty minutes with her hands. Before pointing to a door attached to the room, then behind her mimicking eating action. She then leaves.

Can she not speak or something?

...

I opt for breakfast over a shower. Using the toothbrush and toothpaste provided, I sprinkle water on my face, stopping to watch the water run so easily out of the tap. After a minute, I turn it off sharply, feeling guilty for wasting it unnecessarily. Unravelling the overtop plaits my mother spent an agonising twenty minutes styling my hair into for the Reaping takes ten minutes, it then takes me all of two minutes to run my fingers through my hair and re plait it into my simple one sided braid. I pin Madge's mockingjay on the collar of my dress, for safe keeping. A quick sniff test of my arm pits, I decide I am presentable enough to meet the sponsors. Besides it is not like I am in Pruna where you have at least three washes a day because of the heat.

Breakfast over shower was the right choice, the table is again laid out with a meal fit for a king. I eat as slowly as my eyes will allow me until the attendant returns to collect me. She looks dubiously over my attire but says nothing.

"Wait", I stop by the door, "what about the other boy from my district?" I demand.

My attendant shakes her head. Her finger points to me and then the door.

"Just me?" I clarify, and she nods.

...

I nervously follow my attendant down corridors until she stops outside a door similar to all the other ones we have walked passed.

She knocks loudly.

I tuck loose strands of hair behind my ears, while I try to quickly prepare myself for possible questions sponsors may ask me, but I come up blank.

The door opens, the man who answers seems half asleep. His Capitol red hair that has come from a box, is unnaturally styled like the sea's waves during a storm. His purple eyes widen awake in shock however when he sees me, grabbing my shoulder, he hurls me inside.

"You see this", my eyes follow to the other person in the room, whose white blonde hair has blue streaks in it, "this is why we had to sacrifice our beauty sleep, Octavia", his voice is so over the top and high pitched, it makes my ears cry. Typical Capitol accent. "Put down your coffee. We have work to do".

So this is my makeover team.

Watching previous games, Junior League tributes always go through a 'beauty transformation' in honour of one of the twelve original Olympians the games bases itself on, Aphrodite.

"Oh, just look at this hair", he comments, unimpressed. My eyes focus on his lips, which are almost as big as his jaw.

"Flavius, her nails", Octavia shudders - whose eyes, I just notice are completely black. She brings out a tape measure from nowhere, an unashamedly parts my legs to measure between my crotch and the floor.

"Oh, don't even get me started on her eyebrows", Flavius says, cupping my face and I can see the cake layers of make up he has on. "Like two fat hairy caterpillars... ", he brings my face closer to his, frowning, "she does have the most intriguing eyes though", he mutters, pulling out a gadget from nowhere and taking a picture. "I wonder if I can have my ophthalmologist paint me a copy".

An opto what?

"Tha - ", I begin to say, but am cut off by his scream.

"Octavia!" my eyes widen, wondering what has happened. "Feel her hands!" he moves his hands up my arms, "her skin is like sand paper! Quick draw a bath".

"But - "

"We'll have to work while she soaks", he muses on ignoring me, wildly heading in the direction of I guess the bathroom, "I don't know if we are going to have enough time before she has to meet Cinna", he despairs, stopping short at the door, he turns and points at me. "Strip!"

...

Bow legged, prodded, pulled, so much of my hair as well as pride ripped, I am escorted back to the apartment after what feels like hours of my body being inspected underneath a microscope. And when they gave me a mirror to show me the finished result, I thought I looked anything but beautiful with my eyebrows stripped to slithers, but then, what do I know about beauty?

Cinna, who I gathered to be the head stylist, I was less forgiving of, but that could have been because I only spent five minutes in his presence, and there was something so un-Captolish about him.

It is not until I am back inside the apartment that I realise I have left Madge's pin, my initial anger at myself is quickly gone when I spy the feast of cheeses, meats and bakery bread laid on the table. My mouth salivates, there is a bakery in Merchant Harbour, and if we are ever in that area, my sisters and I can spend ages staring at the display of cupcakes, cookies, pastries, but best of all is the smell of fresh bread. Sometimes I indulge my sisters, with the odd cupcake and cookie if I have had a particularly good sale. Last year, I worked my weekends on yachts during the season. The money was like milk and honey in comparison to what I earn for selling my game, and I made sure I put enough money away so I could buy them a birthday cake in September. The filling was chocolate, covered with thick icing, the letters were written in a combination of their two favourite colours - my stomach rumbling brings be back to the here and now, and my smile fades with the sweet memory.

"Wow", Thresh grins from his seat at the table, suppressing a laugh, " ... you look - "

"Shut up", I cut off, sitting down, my mouth watering as I go to reach for some bread - but the attendant stops me, waggling her finger before pointing to the wrist and the door.

...

"Welcome, welcome", Effie Trinket's voice echoes across the tannoy, as if it was not annoying enough. Capitol born, she has been overseeing the running of the Junior League for three years now. And when it comes to outrageous Capitol fashion, Effie is the creme de la creme. Seriously, once she dressed in an outfit comprised of what looked like see through balloons. I think half the fun of watching the Junior League is seeing her crazy outfits. It angers Gale however, he rages about how much money she must pay for those outfits that cover next to nothing, when some folks in the Seam wear the same amount because they cannot afford more than a few items clothing.

Today she has chosen pink. From her elaborate wig, down to her ridiculously high pink stilettos, which from the way she is walking across the stage, they are not easy to move in.

"If everyone would like to take a seat", she says sweetly. Too sweetly, signalling to the rows of benches in front of where she is standing on the stage. There is a whiteboard on the wall, and the Panem Game Junior League logo projected on it. It is the same logo that was on the plane that brought us here, on our attendants uniform and outside our apartment. I do n-

"Look at that tribute", Thresh says pitifully.

My eyes scan the sea of bodies, they fall on large brown eyes staring right at me, and then quickly onto the severely overweight girl Thresh is referring too.

"And eleven", I say noticing the inconceivably skinny boy.

"There's no way they're going to last", Thresh says regretfully.

Who gets picked for the Junior League is chance. But every fourteen to eighteen year old in Panem has the prospect of representing their district. As soon as you turn fourteen your name goes in once, by the age of eighteen, your name will be entered a minimum of four times. Game training is also a core part of Panem education. Your name may be entered more times because you excel in school, furthermore if you enrol and excel in a sports club. In Pruna, Seam folks are not likely to be entered more than the minimum because they drop out of school, lack of nutrition and their families not being able to afford their time of money on sports. That being said, the majority of our tributes are from the Seam because we outnumber Merchants by maybe eight percent.

"I'm sure the Capitol viewers will find it entertaining", I say cynically.

"Settle down quickly everyone", Effie's voice getting impatient over the excited buzz still in the air. "Today is a big, big day".

"Come on", Thresh mumbles, "let's find somewhere to sit".

Severe overweightness is not something you come across in Pruna, especially in the Seam, but you do get the opposite. They games claim that every child, no matter their credentials, should have the chance to represent their district. But for those lacking in strength or stamina, whether that be because they are overweight or underweight, the odds are already not in their favour. Their humiliation is just for good TV.

Still, it means less competition for me, I reason, pulling my concentration back on myself, and me winning this for my sisters and Gale's family, only to find the pair of familiar brown eyes. _Again!_

I purse my lips; angry at him, annoyed at myself, and weave my way over to sit next to Thresh at the front, but oddly enough, almost end up sitting in someone else's lap!

"Oh!" I jump up, my cheeks heating, as I hear a few laughs around me. "I'm so so - ", my retort gets stuck in my throat, and I find it hard to swallow.

_Him!_

"No, no need to apologise", he grins. His girl friend or _girlfriend_ - I do not care, from his district is immediately at his side, probably frightened that I am going to attack him again.

But I do not even give him the satisfaction of a retort. Instead turning on my heel, I sit the other side of Thresh.

"Well, now that everyone has settled down", Effie says sweetly, but not quite enough to hide the underlying annoyance, and without looking up, I know it was directed at me. I keep my head down while she explains the structure of the four weeks.

The first week will be dedicated to assessing tributes' strength, stamina and skills in logic, as well as how they will fair in some of the potential sports. There will be eight in total. Seven picked randomly, two being a duo sport, and the eighth and last one, always the same, orientation. Only twelve out of the twenty six Junior League tributes will participate in the final two weeks, and have a chance at the prize moneys. By the end of the first week, the six tributes with the lowest scores/sponsors will be out of the competition, the following week, eight.

" - but don't be disheartened", Effie sings, I finally look back up at her, "it is a wonderful opportunity", she says definitively, her arms dancing to the melody of her voice, "and even though some of you may only be here for a little while", her eyes at that moment fall on me and I bring mine back to my lap, "you get to enjoy all of - "

At that moment, the conference room door bangs open, and all eyes turn.

Haymitch Abernathy, Pruna's last and only Junior League winner, aged 16, he went on to win Gold for Hurdles in five consecutive Quarter Quells. Now in his forties, he oversees the Junior League with Effie.

"Old drunk Abernathy", Thresh whispers so only I can hear and I smile.

Although his summers are now spent in the Capitol, he lives in Pruna. He has a house near Merchant Harbour, and spends most of his time in the bars along the docks, drunk. It seems that today is no different.

"Wha I miss?" he slurs.

I few people snigger.

"Haymitch", Effie sings and heads turn back to her, "I have just finished filling in our new lovely tributes" ... I wonder if it hurts her face to smile that much, "of the structure of our exciting exciting month. Do you have anything you would like to add?" she asks, the same hint of annoyance in her voice as when she addressed me earlier.

"... Stay on top".

...  
...

_August_  
_Elegant Eighteen_

_"... Stay on top_".

"-niss".

I feel someone jostle me, and wake up with a start, blinking back to reality.

I cannot believe I fell asleep, normally I do anything but.

Normally? I snort inwardly at myself, this the second time I have made this journey.

"Katniss, we've landed", Finnick soothes, removing his hand from my shoulder.

I wonder if I had one of my nightmares?

I check that my mockingjay pin is still attached to my lapel, which it is, before peering out the cabin window onto the rainy Capitol night.

My focus then turns on to the airport. I wonder if Peeta will be in there waiting for me?

**_Thank you for the reviews, all the follows and favourites, I'm happy that you guys are interested in this plot, it's been looping through my mind for a while now. _**

**_Until next update :)_**


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